Might be better to use a cell for your reference date, eg D1, rather
than hard-code it within the formula. So, put 18/2/08 in D1 and this
formula in C1:

=IF(B1D$1,"bad",B1)

Format the cell as a date, and then copy this down to cover the data
you have in column B.

Hope this helps.

Pete

On Feb 11, 4:30*pm, "Terry" wrote:
Office 2003
Win XP Pro.

I have a spreadsheet with A)col. "names" * * and * * * * B)col.. "dates paid"
My desire is to use another column (say C), with function to highlight "any
date after a certain date has passed".
I have tried conditional formatting but cannot get it right!!

Col A * * * * * Col.B * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Col. C
*smith * * * * *15/2/08 * * * * * * *if after 18/2/08 then "bad", *otherwise
col. B

TIA
Terry